Professional branding involves marketing yourself as a brand that differentiates you from other job seekers. It is important to identify your unique selling propositions (USPs) which showcase your competencies and how they match employer needs. A 7-step process is outlined to help individuals identify their hard and soft skills, match these to job requirements, and develop impactful catchphrases to craft a distinctive professional brand that enhances their job search effectiveness.

1. Manage Your
Professional Brand
A CAREER ENERGISER SERIES

2. Professional Branding
• Professional Branding is the practice of
marketing yourself as a brand. It
goes with you wherever you go,
different places or different companies
• We are our own brands
• The ability to market and sell yourself

3. Unique Selling Proposition (USP)
• Your USP differentiates you and your brand from
your competitors, in this case other job seekers
• Examples include :
• The first Project Manager involved in the Youth Olympics
• The best Accountant in town
• Sometimes, you could include a tagline..
• Just Do It!
• “I'm lovin' it”
• Integrity is everything…
• From Zero to Hero…

4. Purpose of a Professional Brand
1. Enhance your career success / performance
2. Grow & strengthen your network
3. Improve your visibility
4. Increase motivation and self-confidence
5. Enhance your job search effectiveness

5. Why is a Professional Brand Important?
1. Market yourself
2. An accurate
representation of
your identity

6. 7 Steps to identify your USPs
Identify your competencies
Your hard & soft skills1
Identify the JD requirements
A list of key Knowledge, Skills, Attributes (KSA) in the JD and company2
3
Eliminate the Commons
Benchmark and remove competencies that are well met by others
4 Match Competencies to JDs
Decide how you want to present it
5 Verify and Commit
Conduct interviews with others and identify your strong USPs
6 Craft an Impactful Catchy Phrase
Memorable and resonating USPs
7
Monitor Outcomes & Improve
Refine for effectiveness

7. Step 1 - Identify your Competencies
Hard Skills Soft Skills Others
HR L&D and T&A
ISO 9000/14000
MAS Compliance
ERP MM
Presentation
People mgt across AP
Complex mediation
Negotiation to YES
Volunteer leadership
Toast Master speaker
Telling jokes / Singing
Golf
1. List down as many skills as possible
2. Go deep, instead of broad to be impactful
3. Reference to the JD key attributes
4. Use of key words or phrases but not a paragraph

8. Step 2 – Identify JD Requirements
Hard Skills Soft Skills Others
HR L&D and T&A
ISO 9000/14000
MAS Compliance
ERP MM
Presentation
People mgmt across
AP
Complex mediation
Teamwork
Shift work
Work location
Multitasks
Matrix organization
1. Select one JD that best matches your profile
2. Identify as many keywords as possible from JD
Knowledge, Skills, Attributes and Others (KSAO)
3. Explicit and implicit
4. Review company home page for business culture elements

9. Step 3 – Eliminate the Commons
1. Which of your competencies are common to
many job seekers?
2. Remove, combine or modify (by going
deeper)
i. Talent Recruitment
ii. Talent recruitment for PMET
iii. Talent recruitment for Lifescience PMET
3. See it from employer’s perspective

10. Step 4 – Match Competencies to JDs
1. Match and prioritise - especially those
USPs that cannot be imitated by others
2. Be concise and positive
Biz Analyst Purchasing Mgr HR Mgr
Poor Excel Supplier mgmt Recruitment
Average Pivot table
Contract
negotiation
Talent retention
and development
Better
P&L forecast
through business
modeling
Annual cost saving
through VMI
Right sizing by
job redesign

11. Step 5 – Verify & Commit
1. Conduct interviews for confirmation
(ex-peers, ex-bosses, friends, family, etc.)
2. Be explicit, and be prepared to commit
Sales & BD Mgr Production Mgr Investment Analyst
New market
penetration thru
targeted LinkedIn
marketing and on site
technical seminar
Shop floor
optimization to
shorten cycle time
and space saving
Market research with
scenario testing on
investments into
Malaysia agriculture
companies
New market pipeline
CAGR > 21% over 3
yrs
> 6% productivity
improvement
Proven ROI > 15%
over 3 years

12. Step 6 – Craft an Impactful Catchy Phrase
Company Catchy Phrase
SIA A great way to fly!
Mercedes We Drive First Class!
Fedex When your package absolutely, positively has to get there
overnight!
M&M Melts in your mouth, not in your hand!
Name Catchy Phrase
Fyiona Yong Generation Bridge Builder!
Eugene
Seah
Meaning of work beyond money!
Mike Li I coach you to find a career you love, and to love your life!
Sarah Kwah Talent acquisition is not just about hiring someone on the job!

13. Step 7 – Monitor Outcomes & Improve
1. Does your USP concisely answer the
employer’s primary question?
> Why should I hire you?
2. Study the industry trends & update
frequently
• Robotic Process Automation (RPA)
• BlockChain applications
• IoT and Industry 4.0
• Big Data Analytics

14. SAMPLES OF
USP TEMPLATES

15. Victor Loo
HR Manager
Core Competencies
• HR start-up and digital
transformation
• HR technology adoption for
human capital development
• Job redesign for fixed cost
reduction & lean operations
• Leverage government grants to
reduce training cost
• WP/SP/EP applications & levy
management
Key Achievements Testimonials
• Labour cost reduction of
$1.2 million through job
redesign (2016)
• Migration into HRIT
supported 30% staff growth
w/o HR headcount increase
(2012)
• Recruitment cycle down
from 3 months to 6 weeks
through HRIT (2012)
“ .... a valuable HR partner in
helping my BU in formulating L&D
program contributing in business
effectiveness and succession
planning”
Steven Graham
VP, BU Handheld Mobile
“ .... a catalyst of change driving
company digital transformation
through effective job redesign.”
Wilson Chan
GM, Vertex Singapore
xxx An initiative by
Right sizing through job design!
HR professional equipped with best practices for full spectrum of HR functions L&D,
T&A, C&B, Ops & Policy) with specialities in creating a lean organisation through
digital transformation and job redesign
Photo

16. Name
Designation
Core Competencies
…
Key Achievements Testimonials
…
….
(Volunteerism or other attributes)
Tagline
Career Mission Statement
Mobile Number Email Address Linkedin Profile Link
Photo

17. A Summary
1. A good professional brand enhances
your job search effectiveness
2. Use the 7 framework to craft a
distinctive USP that showcases your
value add
3. Keep testing, upgrading and refining
your USPs with every interview or
networking event

18. What’s Next?
• Visit Careers Connect online for useful resources on
writing a good USP and developing your professional
brand
• This is a preview of the Manage Your Professional Brand
workshop. Reflect and identify what sets you apart from
the competition with Careers Connect!
FIND OUT MORE